Team Canada skip Kerri Einarson directs her teammates as they play Team Northern Ontario at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Einarson continued her drive toward a fifth straight Canadian women's curling title Monday with a 9-8 win over British Columbia's Corryn Brown at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Manitoba’s Jennifer Jones and Ontario’s Rachel Homan remained unbeaten in their pool Monday at the Canadian women’s curling championship.
Six-time champion Jones improved to 4-0 with an 11-3 win over New Brunswick’s Melissa Adams (1-3), while three-time champ Homan was 3-0 following an 11-2 victory of Yukon’s Bayly Scoffin (0-3).
Jones announced earlier this week that this year’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts will be her last. She will retire from women’s team curling after this season. The 49-year-old will continue to curl mixed doubles with husband Brent Laing, however.
In other Pool B games on Monday afternoon, B.C.’s Clancy Grandy reached 3-1 with an 8-5 victory over Nova Scotia’s Heather Smith (1-3). Ontario’s Danielle Inglis (2-2) picked up an 11-4 win over Manitoba’s Kate Cameron (2-1).
In earlier Pool A games, defending champion Kerri Einarson edged British Columbia’s Corryn Brown 9-8 in an extra end to move into a tie with Saskatchewan’s Skylar Ackerman at 3-1.
Alberta’s Selena Sturmay led the pool at 3-0. She had Monday morning off, but was to face Ackerman in the evening draw.
Einarson is minus longtime lead Briane Harris, who was deemed ineligible to play in the Tournament of Hearts hours before the tournament kicked off for undisclosed reasons. Alternate Krysten Karwacki has taken Harris’s spot in Calgary.
Einarson is attempting to win a record fifth straight national women’s crown. Ackerman dropped a 7-3 decision to Quebec’s Laurie St-Georges (2-1).
In other early results Monday, Northern Ontario’s Krista McCarville (2-2) downed Prince Edward Island’s Jane DiCarlo (0-4) by a score of 9-5, and Manitoba’s Kaitlyn Lawes (1-2) picked up an 8-3 win over Newfoundland and Labrador’s Stacie Curtis (0-3).
The top three teams in each pool advance to a six-team playoff round, from which the four Page playoff teams will be determined.
The winner of Sunday’s final represents Canada in the world championship March 16-24 in Sydney, N.S., and earns a return trip to the 2025 Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay, Ont., as defending champion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2024.
